France coach says he assumes masked Mbappé will be available for Netherlands match at Euro 2024

LEIPZIG, Germany — France coach Didier Deschamps says he assumes Kylian Mbappé will be available for the Euro 2024 clash against the Netherlands on Friday.

“Everything is going well, after the shock we had. He was able to take part is some light exercises yesterday and that will be the same this evening. Everything is evolving in the right direction,” Deschamps said Thursday. “We’ll do all we can to ensure that he’ll be available tomorrow.”

Mbappé broke his nose in France’s opening 1-0 win over Austria on Monday when his face collided with Austria defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder. Blood stained his white France jersey. If he plays, he’ll need to wear a mask.

“Kylian will be wearing a mask,” Deschamps confirmed to journalists. “We don’t need to know the details of this mask. I think you have enough moles to know where the mask is coming from.”

Mbappé returned to light training on Wednesday and was expected to continue preparations on Thursday.